Thursday, March 15, 2018

My father liked to photograph zoo animals. When we lived in the Southern Tier of NY, off to the Buffalo zoo. Here in Michigan, we were only about 5 miles from the Detroit Zoo where he had a special parking place and free admission in return for his photos. Both zoos had peacocks roaming freely. I often was with him being his Sherpa as he had lots of equipment. Another of my jobs was to entice peacocks into displaying their tail feathers. They will spread their feathers to entice females but will do it if a male is close by. My father constructed a mirror from a large piece of cardboard and foil. Peacocks are not smart; they will think their image is another male. At the animal rescue center, there were two males close to each other. The one above went into display mode though the other didn't. Too bad as it would be a great shot if they had a face off.

On my runs, I often hear the screeches of peacocks as people keep them as pets. The commercial orchard I run by is only open in the fall.,keeps them in the kids' petting zoo. So my early morning run past there treats me with the aroma of frying doughnuts and the jungle sounds of the peacocks.

The sandhill cranes are back as their calls can be heard for a mile and the red wing black birds are doing their spring trills. The calendar says it is close to spring but every morning for the past 2 weeks has been twenty or below. Cold, cold, cold. And one morning, all was covered in black ice so I had to wait to go to Steve's gym, a time consuming project if I go with him. Our juncos are still here, snow birds. They know it is still winter.

I'm to select a medicare gap plan today. I guess I can always choose another if I don't like my choice this year. Our company did give us somewhat subsidized health insurance but their medigap plan for retirees is extremely expensive compared to the open market. And renewing a driver's license is going to be an ordeal as now they have to be TSA compliant if I ever want to fly pass 2020. I have to show up with my birth certificate and marriage certificate.

Monday, March 12, 2018

The above are close ups of photos I took. As I didn't have a zoom lens, I had to get very close to my subject. Below are my friend's photos. She had a zoom lens but not a telephoto one with her so she didn't need to get as close

the dragon's eye soccer stadium

I think this thrush is their national bird. Of all the colorful candidates, they chose this one

iguana from a distance

Zarcero

more topiaries

mama and baby sloth

white faced monkey high in a tree

anhinga drying its feathers

osprey These have been re-introduced to Michigan. Some of them are radio tracked and some end up in Costa Rica though the Michigan ones seem to favor Cuba

official Nicaraguan border

motmot bird Notice tennis racquet tail feathers

spider monkeys

a row of well camouflaged parrots

waning crescent moon It looked much more impressive the day before when only a bit was lit up orange just over the ocean, which was to our west. Here the moon rises in the East

hidden iguana

crocs

flying macaws

blue heron Not the same as our blue herons

Halloween crab

squirrel monkey

our tram was above this one

nesting macaws

oropendula and nests. He is a 20 inch long oriole. They did have Baltimore orioles flying around too (though not here)

Friday, March 9, 2018

my sloth hangs in the kitchen though it already knocked down one of my apertivo glasses

My banana and orange peel necklace

Objects made from tropical woods were popular. Aside from this necklace, I got yet another cutting board

I thought winter was done when I returned. For 5 days or so, it was unseasonably warm then the snows hit.

this one is now walking. I am a few feet from her yet she is smiling so maybe she is learning to like me. Baby Josh looked so much like this though he was faster to grow hair

Sunny is now 13 and has arthritis. Still remembers me. After having joint custody after the divorce, Josh only gets her when his ex is on vacation

she is a beauty

I've now been home for 2 weeks. I so hoped that winter was over but no, it is not. Worse, the elliptical trainer broke when it was too icy for me to run outside. Steve pointed the accusing finger...I must be doing something wrong. Why do I need to use my arms? It broke in the same place. He said that since I broke it, I have to get it fixed. Sigh. A replacement part will come in a few days. The lady was really nice (this part is under warranty still). She said she needed to ask me a personal question

Do you weigh more than 300 pounds?

Steve and I together do not weigh so much. I went to his gym as a guest one of the days and used theirs but it involved a slightly different motion so it is painful for me to walk 2 days later. If I get the same medicare gap health plan as he does, I can use his gym for free. I have a few weeks to decide. Meanwhile I had to show up to a Social Security office in person because someone (not me) had inputted that I was born in Michigan instead of New York so I had to find my birth certificate to show them, yes I was born in New York. My card came in the mail yesterday.

I got pulled over by the police for the first time in forever. My crime: not coming to a full stop when I pulled out of our neighborhood. I saw a car coming. If I delayed, I would either slow that driver down or have to wait another 30 seconds. Too bad I didn't notice that the car was the sheriff. Second crime, not having proof of insurance. We haven't gotten them for the last 3 years. I complained to the insurance guy. Ten days later, still don't have it. The sheriff was niceand didn't write me a ticket so Yay.

I've seen all the grandkids (except Oliver) and I've been shopping a bit too much. I've been sorting clothes, giving some away and boxing up others.

Steve and me

40th anniversary trip to Spain

About me

I am a mother of 3, wife of 1, and grandmother of 6. For years, I had been a medicinal chemist. Not long after I was retired early, I found myself with triple negative breast cancer. My struggles with it are in this blog along with the joys and trials of being a mother and grandmother. I love to be physically active, travel, read, and garden. Although my degrees are in chemistry and cellular biology not medicine, I keep up with the medical literature and report herein watching closely for good news against this deadly disease. As time goes on, my stay in Cancerland has become more a bad memory than a reality. This blog has since morphed into a photo blog in which I try to capture moments of beauty in my life.